As if she had the most brilliant idea, Inari’s face lit up when she bypassed Coast and entered their living room.
“We should do a fashion show! Oh Coast, you can do her hair and take all her pictures! Please!” Inari begged, sauntering to the table and dropping the bags.
Snickering, Coast looked down at Iara, who had suddenly woken right up from the excitement in her auntie’s voice. She pulled off Coast’s nipple and turned her head as Inari spun around.
“Hey, Shuga Shug!” she cooed, flashing her contagious grin that Rara returned.
Breastmilk leaked from her lips when she smiled, and her little legs went crazy.
“Yeahhh, that’s my girl!” Inari knelt and held her arms open.
Relieved, Coast stepped forward and handed her daughter to her. Inari was one of the only people Iara would take a bottle from. She loved being in her arms and letting her sing and rock her, while talking to her about any and everything like Raracould understand. Mozzi was the same way. Coast could relate, but some days she also felt off. It wasn’t her daughter. She loved her wholeheartedly and would never harm her, but she had a lot of self-doubt and anxiety thinking about motherhood. Life was hard enough trying to get through it when you felt alone. Meeting Mozzi gave her a family she never thought she could have. Being home waiting for him, seeing the ring on her finger and how much he had turned his whole life around for her sometimes made her wonder if he would ever regret or be resentful of her.
“Hey, what you over there thinking about?” Inari noticed Coast get quiet and drift off.
She recognized that look. She was fifteen years old when she gave birth to Dane, and nobody could tell her that her life wasn’t over. A teen pregnancy was always a stigma on a young girl. No matter what they say, people judged you off that, whether good or bad, depending on how you and the kid turned out. Coast was present and a very good mother to Iara, but she had this somberness resting in her eyes. Inari knew the feeling.
Coast might not have known Ayla that long, but it was long enough for her to know she loved her like a little sister too. Losing her had hit them all in one way or another. Mozzi didn’t even like watching cooking shows anymore because they reminded him of her.
“About me and Mozzi.” Coast moved over into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. “I have turned his life upside down. I just don’t want him to ever regret anything or be resentful.”
“Coast, lemme tell you something… mmkay.” Inari bounced Iara on her knee so she could burp her. “That man loves you like I have never seen a man love a woman before. He’s crazy as hell, but he’s even crazier about you and this little girl. The man went from having this whole poly situation with three women to husband and daddy in less than a year. Take the love.”
A lazy smile claimed Coast’s lips when she thought about it in retrospect.
“Furthermore, you deserve it. Why do you think you don’t should be the question?” Inari posed with a hiked brow.
“Because all this blissful domestication scares the hell out of me,” Coast muttered, turning to the fridge and pulling on the door to open it.
“That’s just that free spirited growing up you did with your parents. I think you lowkey always wanted this. You just never got to see it up close. Family. A real home to grow up in. Friends, a village. Instead of all these fleeting moments with people you won’t ever see again.”
“I did not know you minored in psychology, Dr. Jacobs,” Coast jested, grabbing a bottle of spring water and a bowl of fresh cut fruit with a tropical yogurt that she loved.
“Just calling it how I see it.” Iara burped loudly, and Inari snickered as she rubbed her back. “Shug, that was unladylike, but you get a pass tuhday because you’re so pretty.” Inari spun her in her arms so she was facing her but still in the sitting position.
“Do you mind sitting with her while I got take this suit off and shower?”
“Yeah,” Inari agreed. “How did it go at court?”
Coast popped the lid on the fruit and grabbed a chunk of cantaloupe. She took a bite and stared ahead for a minute before sighing.
“Supervised visitation twice a month for now,” she disclosed.
“How did Mozzi take that?” Inari wondered.
“You know him. Calm on the outside, plotting some shit on the inside.” Coast twisted the cap off her water bottle.
“And you?”
“I hate it,” Coast admitted. “I don’t want her anywhere near my child. I gotta figure out a way to get out of this. Next, she’ll bepushing for unsupervised, and there ain’t no way.” Coast shook her head.
“Well, take it for what it is right now. Don’t be stupid or impulsive. Damn sure don’t give her anything she can use against you. Take advantage of the situation. Has Mozzi even looked into her background? She might be a lawyer, but that don’t mean she ain’t got some skeletons in her closet too.”
“You’re right.” Coast bobbed her head.
She had a lot going on with being a new wife and mother. So, she walked around with brain fog most of the time. She did laundry, cooked, cleaned, and tended to her child. Lately, she hadn’t even had time for sketching or taking pictures unless it was her phone catching some sweet or cute moment from her baby girl. She’d been consumed by everything. This court date was the first time she’d left the house since her daughter’s last doctor’s visit. Mozzi even gave her the option for house calls on that.
“You need to get out of this house,” Inari surmised, damn near reading Coast’s thoughts. “You’ve been cooped up in here with this little cutie. Even if you take her to the park or something. We could go get massages and facials. The works. My treat!”
